Chipola Preps for Pensacola After Gulf Coast Win

Winning on the road
is supposed to be pretty difficult in the
Panhandle Conference.

The No. 1 Chipola Indians are making it look easy.

The top-ranked Indians took another
impressive road win Wednesday night with an
89-73 triumph over the Gulf Coast
Commodores, just four days after beating
Northwest Florida State in Niceville for the
first time in three tries.

“The important thing is getting off to a
great start,” Chipola coach Greg Heiar said,
noting his team’s 3-0 league record and
two-game advantage over every other team in
the conference.

“Those were two big road victories. It
just says a lot about the leadership of this
team and the maturity of this team because
those aren’t easy places to go play at.”

Chipola beat NWF State 69-60 Jan. 10,
coming back from a 10-point deficit with 10
minutes to play.

Against Gulf Coast, the Indians faced an
eight-point deficit early in the game but
stormed back to lead by as many as 24 points
in the second half.

“I thought we played really, really good
team basketball,” Heiar said of Wednesday
night. “It seems like, as a team, we’re
getting better and better every time we
play. That’s a great sign.”

The Indians led 40-33 at halftime and
quickly expanded the lead in the second
half.

Heiar said he was extremely impressed by
his team giving such a dominant performance
against a much-improved Gulf Coast team in
front of a hostile crowd.

“I think it says a lot about this team.
We’re extremely talented, but we have a
really mature approach,” the coach said. “We
have a mature group of guys. I can’t say
enough about their togetherness, how they
handle any situation put forth in front of
them. They accept every challenge and that’s
the sign of a special team.”

Chipola can extend its lead over PJC
(17-4, 1-2), which defeated Tallahassee
62-55 Wednesday, to three games with a win
Saturday night.

“PJC comes in here and they need to get a
victory, so they’re going to play us tough,”
Heiar said of the Pirates. “It’s like a
three-game series with them, so the first
game is so important.

“They’re going to give us their best
shot, so we’ve got to come out and give them
our best shot as well.”

The Pirates have a balanced offensive
attack with four players averaging double
figures scoring, led by Jalin Thomas at 13.3
points per game.

Heiar said the Pirates love to get the
ball inside and force you to defend the
interior.

“They want to drive the ball and pound
the ball in the paint,” the coach said.
“They get the ball to the paint, which is
the way you’re supposed to play in the
halfcourt.”

Heiar said that the Pirates will force
the Indians to work for everything they get
on both ends of the court.

“They’ve got nine guys who can play and
they all know their roles,” the coach said.
“(PJC coach Paul Swanson) has done a great
job of getting them to play and fight hard
on every possession.

“You watch them on tape and say, ‘wow
they play hard.’ They do whatever they have
to do to win. They’re going to compete. for
40 minutes.”

After a pair of tough road games, Heiar
said the Indians are happy to get back to
more familiar surroundings.

“It’s good to get back home and play in
front of our fans,” the coach said. “It’s a
great opportunity for the fans to come out
and see this group of guys play. I’ve never
had a team like this. The guys are so fun to
watch. They play hard, play together and
play the right way, from best player all the
way down to last guy on the bench.

“I think the fans have an excellent
opportunity to see this team. There hasn’t
been a team like this at Chipola in a long
time.”